The startup that changed the face of food delivery in Angola

Tupuca was the first app of its kind in the African country

21/08/2018 05:00 PM

CAN YOU remember your life before you could order dishes from your favourite restaurants with a few taps on your mobile and have them delivered to you? The ease of choosing from a wide selection of culinary options and simply sitting back and waiting for them to arrive in the comfort of your own home has revolutionised the way we eat.

Recognising the lack of such a platform in Angola, four millennials joined together to create one that would revolutionise takeaway and meal delivery in the country.

It has been three years since the launch of Tupuca, Angola’s first food delivery platform but the transformational business seems to be serving the country’s residents as well as ever.

Behind the establishment of the company are Erickson Mvezi, Wilson Ganga, Patrice Francisco and Sydney Teixeira.

One of the company’s founders, Erickson Mvezi, who is also its CEO, said that he drew inspiration for the model from fashion apps.

In a 2017 interview with Success Code Blog, Mvezi said: “We wanted to contact some fashion stores and create a virtual platform that would give them the opportunity to sell. But as a result of legal and market issues we started having some doubts, which at the time forced us to put the project on hold. After a while, influenced by a personal need to always order food, I began to research about how food delivery applications outside the country worked.

“It coincided also that one of the subjects I had during my masters, allowed me to work on any project. It was then that I took the model on hold, adjusted it by replacing the fashion stores with restaurants, and then started doing some feasibility studies and noticed that it would be a profitable thing, and then Tupuca was born.”

The award-winning Tupuca offers users a wide variety of food choices. The deliveries are carried out my drivers who receive commission. The drivers are required to supply their own motorbikes but the company equips them with backpacks to transport the deliveries, phones and insurance. This model helps to keep the costs low.

Now in its third year, Tupuca is facing competition from other similar food businesses that have followed its lead and started up in the same territory. But according to reports, its founders are undeterred by the increasing interest in the sector in Angola.

You can find out more about Tupuca at tupuca.com.

Read every story in our hardcopy newspaper for free by downloading the app.

Posted on: 21/08/2018 05:00 PM

Subscribe to The Voice database!

We'd like to keep in touch with you regarding our daily newsletter, Voice competitions, promotions and marketing material and to further increase our reach with The Voice readers.

If interested, please click the below button to complete the subscription form.